Improving HPV vaccine acceptance through peer-to-peer education among adolescent girls in the urban poor settings of Kisenyi, Kampala, Uganda.

In Uganda, cervical cancer due to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the most prevalent cancer among women. In 2015, the HPV vaccine was introduced into Uganda's EPI program, targeting young girls in-and out-of-school. However, HPV vaccine uptake remains low at 44% for the second dose with disparities in vulnerable populations in urban poor settings.

Health research prioritization in Somalia: setting the agenda for context specific knowledge to advance universal health coverage.

Introduction: Despite recognition that health research is an imperative to progress toward universal health coverage, resources for health research are limited. Yet, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, more than 85% of the resources available for health research are spent on answering less relevant research questions. This misalignment is partially due to absence of locally determined health research priorities.

Progress and experiences of implementing an integrated disease surveillance and response system in Somalia; 2016-2023.

Introduction: In 2021, a regional strategy for integrated disease surveillance was adopted by member states of the World Health Organization Eastern Mediterranean Region. But before then, member states including Somalia had made progress in integration of their disease surveillance systems. We report on the progress and experiences of implementing an integrated disease surveillance and response system in Somalia between 2016 and 2023.

Retrospective identification of key activities in Uganda's preparedness measures related to the 2018-2020 EVD outbreak in eastern DRC utilizing a framework evaluation tool.

Uganda has engaged in numerous capacity building activities related to outbreak preparedness over the last two decades and initiated additional just-in-time preparedness activities after the declaration of the 2018-2020 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). When Uganda faced importation events related to the DRC outbreak in June-August 2019, the country's ability to prevent sustained in-country transmission was attributed to these long-term investments in preparedness. In order to help prepare countries for similar future scenarios, this analysis reviewed evidence from Uganda's response to the June-August 2019 importation events to identify preparedness activities and capacities that may have enabled Uganda to identify and isolate infected individuals or otherwise prevent further transmission.

The right of access to healthcare: an analysis of how legal and institutional frameworks constrain or facilitate access to healthcare for residents in border areas in the East African Community.

Background: Despite many countries working hard to attain Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Health-related Sustainable Development Goals, access to healthcare services has remained a challenge for communities residing along national borders in the East Africa Community (EAC). Unlike the communities in the interior, those along national borders are more likely to face access barriers and exclusion due to low health investments and inter-state rules for non-citizens. This study explored the legal and institutional frameworks that facilitate or constrain access to healthcare services for communities residing along the national borders in EAC.

Experiences of seeking healthcare across the border: lessons to inform upstream policies and system developments on cross-border health in East Africa.

Objectives: This study explored the experiences of accessing care across the border in East Africa.

Participants: From February to June 2018, a cross-sectional study using qualitative and quantitative methods was conducted among 279 household adults residing along selected national border sites of Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda and had accessed care from the opposite side of the border 5 years prior to this study.

Setting: Access to HIV treatment, maternal delivery and childhood immunisation services was explored.

The extent to which the design of available reproductive health interventions fit the reproductive health needs of adolescents living in urban poor settings of Kisenyi, Kampala, Uganda.

Background: The rate at which informal urban settlements (slums) are developing in Low and Middle Income. Countries (LMICs) like Uganda is high. With this, comes the growing intersection between urbanization and the reproductive health of key populations.

Proportion of children aged 9-59 months reached by the 2017 measles supplementary immunization activity among the children with or without history of measles vaccination in Lilongwe district, Malawi.

Background: The measles Supplementary Immunization Activity (SIA) was implemented in June, 2017 to close immunity gaps by providing an additional opportunity to vaccinate children aged between 9 months and up to 14 years in Lilongwe District, Malawi. This study was conducted to determine the proportion of eligible children that were reached by the 2017 measles SIA among those children with or without history of measles vaccination, and possible reasons for non-vaccination.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey using mixed methods was conducted.

Improving HIV outreach testing yield at cross-border venues in East Africa.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate HIV testing yield under several candidate strategies for outreach testing at venues (i.e. places where people socialize and meet new sex partners) in East Africa cross-border areas.

Using a Quality Improvement Approach in the Prevention of Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission Program in Uganda Improves Key Outcomes and Is Sustainable in Demonstration Facilities: Partnership for HIV-Free Survival.

Background: The Partnership for HIV-Free Survival (PHFS) in Uganda used a quality improvement (QI) approach to integrate the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV, maternal and child health, and nutrition services, with the goal of increasing the retention of mother-baby pairs in care and decreasing vertical transmission of HIV.

Methods: This evaluation of PHFS used a retrospective longitudinal design to assess the program's association with 4 outcomes. Data were extracted from patient records from 2011 (before the program) to 2018 (after the program) at 18 demonstration, 18 scale-up, and 24 comparison facilities.

Ebola a reality of modern Public Health; need for Surveillance, Preparedness and Response Training for Health Workers and other multidisciplinary teams: a case for Uganda.

Introduction: West Africa is experiencing the largest ever reported Ebola outbreak. Over 20,000 people have been infected of which about 9000 have died. It is possible that lack of community understanding of the epidemic and lack of institutional memory and inexperienced health workers could have led to the rapid spread of the disease.